SchillingIsTheNatural

Thats true...I recall last season Papelbon really had one priority in AAA = get ready to be in the bullpen. They moved him from starter to reliever...I don't remember much about Papelbon working on secondary pitches. Only time I heard about that was last years spring training when Schilling worked with him on a splitter. Thats was probably a big reason for the 3 walks compared to Lester's 11. Control issues are there but hopefully not for long.

Ok i went to baseball america and you are right about Verlander. Nevertheless its not fair to say they can't contribute and make a difference on this team. Just look at Ching Mein Wang last season. I think teams are starting to figure him out now. Last year he didn't show up until later in the season and nobody had a decent scounting report.

Those are the options. In both cases (and I've seen if before) they may not get hit as bad as you may think. It is quite possible that one (either Lester or Hansen or both) are able to come up and pitch very well. Just because they are rookies does not mean they can't be effective. Francisco Liriano was considered the top lefty in the minors last season with Jon Lester behind him. Peter Gammons said Craig Hansen has better stuff than Houston Street. Justin Verlander is not really in the same class as either and look how he has done. Jonathan Papelbon has had great success and his numbers in Portland and Pawtucket were not much better than Lester's. I'm not saying they will be unhittable or an immediate ace....but they could be pretty damn good. Especially if they come up part way through the year where most teams will only see them a couple times.

I was wondering the same about the Yanks. If Pavano ends up on the shelf for the year and Chacon and Wright stay as is, what would the Yanks do? I guess Mike Mussina would be the only ace, an inconsistent old man Johnson, and an average overall pitcher in Wang and then?? Chances are Beckett, Schilling, and Wakefield will all continue to have good seasons (incase injuries). Matt Clement will be up and down (not horrible for a #5 starter) and if David Wells can't regain his former self we have DiNardo, Ginter, Alvarez, Lester, and (YES!) Craig Hansen. Everyone should check out the comparison between Lester, Hansen, and Papelbon from there start in AAA Pawtucket. Jon Lester is close to the same numbers as Papelbon was and Craig Hansen has a chance to post better numbers than both. If either Lester or Hansen played for a different team there is a great chance they would already be in the majors.

Its interesting but I did some playing with numbers to see how Jon Lester compared to Jonathan Papelbon through there first 7 games with Pawtucket (almost the same amount of innings) Lester (26.2 IP, 26 H, 12 ER, 11 BB, 29 SO, 4.05 ERA) Papelbon (27.2 IP, 21 H, 9 ER, 3 BB, 27 SO, 2.93 ERA) Keep in mind too that Jon Lester is 22 years old compared to Papelbon who was 24 last year in Pawtucket. I hope those who want to trade him would look at these numbers and realize....he's going to be a good one. It will be interesting to see how Craig Hansen compares when he gets up to 27 innings. Another thing to keep in mind....Jonathan Papelbon was part way through the season when called to Pawtucket and already warmed up.

So do you think he can work through the "dead arm" issue and be a starter? Does anyone know any others starters who had this problem early on and worked through it?

Javy Lopez is horrible???? I'm guessing you are short minded enough to only look at his stats this season. Javy Lopez is not a horrible hitter...and since when is Dave Newhan any decent?? Ramon Hernandez has come back to earth....batting .321 and being one of the better catchers in the league. Jay Gibbons is easily handled....god knows why the guy is in the majors....maybe because he hits 20+ HRs a season. ...this is still an AL East lineup....all of them are decent....you want to look at a bad lineup go look up Kansas City...that is a joke.

I think last night was just one of those games....after watching Josh Beckett completely overpower the Orioles, Schilling probably thought he could do the same. Who would have though Brandon Fahey would put his bat on anything and knock it out of the park. I'm sure Schilling didn't think it would happen so he threw a dart middle-in and...well bye bye ball. Other than that......you can't keep a lineup quiet forever.....you have to know Jay Gibbons is bound to make contact somewhere along with Hernandez. However, he kept Mora, Tejada, and Lopez quiet for the night so it wasn't all bad. The point is we won another close game and that is a great thing to see this year. Normally we would blow a team away then lose the series in close games. Our pitchers have done an excellent job this year of keeping the team in the ball game....thats all you can ask from them.

1. Cy Young 2. Roger Clemens 3. Pedro Martinez 4. Curt Schilling 5. Babe Ruth CL: Jonathan Papelbon:D

I sent mine out as well. My grandmother passed away this last Wednesday. Its very difficult losing someone you love but remember the good times you had....thats how everyone wants to be remembered.

Agreed...pretty good game by Trot Nixon...that homer was against a lefty as well.

Every pitcher on the Texas Rangers should be fired.....thats pathetic and embarassing

Trot Nixon is a good baseball player. He is not a All-Star but thats ok. Not everyone needs to be at that level. The offense moves well with him. Willy Mo Pena has some good pop to his bat but he still strikes out a lot. Nixon does a much better job working the count, making the pitcher work, getting on base, hitting when players are on base, and plays excellent defense. I'm not sure where you see he should lose his job to a 24 year old who needs work on his defense and still has to work on his plate discipline. Give Willy Mo some more time to continue adjusting. Our offense won't suffer with Trot Nixon in the lineup. I can understand though that things are going well for the Red Sox someone needs to get down on someone. Its truely amazing....Manny Ramirez has a slow start, Coco Crisp stuggles with his injury, David Wells struggles with his injury, Rudy Seanez struggles in his first month, David Ortiz was batting around .260, Mark Loretta and Alex Gonzalez can't hit, Keith Foulke made people frustrated at times early..... and we are fighting for 1st place. Don't mess with it.

Sounds like he could be out for the season. Even if he has a chance to come back the Yankees may keep him out for the year based on how he has pitched.

Its really amazing how quickly we jump on people....I hope everyone realizes that. So Trot Nixon hasnt hit a home run in a month.....he has only struckout 11 times this season....his OBP is .433. Nixon has been batting over .300 pretty much all year. I dont think this is an issue. Trot Nixon is a starting outfielder and Willy Mo Pena is a fantastic backup for the time being. Chances are Nixon will get hurt again and Crisp could always be injured after he gets back. Depth is important (ask the Yanks) so lets just leave it that way.....I promise we can win with Trot Nixon. Not to mention it gives us a very dangerous bat late in the game for a pinch run situation.....last thing we want is Gonzalez batting to win the game.

Although I agree with you...I'm not sure it will be based on his performance but the fact we don't have anywhere to put him. I wouldn't be excited for him to come to the majors simply to be a middle inning guy. I'd rather see him dominate as a starter in AAA and force the Red Sox with no choice but to bring him up. Same goes with Jon Lester.

I don't think I mentioned anything about him making the jump to the majors....just that its a decent start in AAA. Those numbers dont include the start he made tonight. 4 innings, 5 hits, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K ...all hits were singles

I'm not positive about these stats but thus far Craig Hansen has posted these numbers in AAA: 12 innings, 10 hits, 7 walks, 10 strikeouts, 2.25 ERA ...looking pretty damn good thus far

Although I like Willy Mo Pena he will mostly get at-bats against lefty pitching. We can't have too many righty hitters in against a righty pitcher. I'm going to throw out a couple thoughts though. What happens if Manny Ramirez asks to be traded again mid-season? I'm not saying Willy Mo is Manny Ramirez but I could imagine the man could take over for Manny in LF. I even think with his power he could hit cleanup for the Red Sox. If we walk into that situation the Red Sox could look for more pitching depth or a different power bat. Maybe a superior SS?? Its just a thought since I love the makeup of this team at the moment and wouldn't change it but it gives us more choices to make should Manny be Manny again.

Wow...thanks to those of you who mentioned my post and were moved by it. Its just another reason why Red Sox fans are the greatest. I saw some other posts with parents (mainly fathers) mentioned and its a great thing that so many are willing to give something back to those who brought us up and gave so much. I can see SFoC's kindness and generosity is rubbing off.

I'm not positive on the stats line but from the play by play I came up with: 4 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K ...all the hits were singles appears I was beat to the punch....damn jsinger your quick

No way, Not possible, Not happening Nomar is from California. He is happy and playing well with the team right now. He is still a huge injury risk and doesn't have the range to play SS anymore. There are reasons LA has him playing 1B. Remember how he was before we traded him? He wasn't there for the team when we were working on championship run. Its like bringing back Drew Bledsoe to the NE Patriots.....nope.....good try though, you are thinking outside of the box.